The Ducor Continental Hotel

Nat Bayjay, nbayjay2010@frontpageafrica.com

At long last the ongoing battle between the hundreds of residents of the disputed Rocky Hill Community near the Ducor Continental Hotel in Monrovia and the Liberian government seems to be coming to a close as the much anticipated demolition of houses in the area got underway early Thursday morning.

The demolition of houses in the area came barely 24 hours after Wednesday’s bloody protest staged by residents of the community who had taken to the streets in what began as a peaceful demonstration in a bid to reach the National Legislature on Capitol Hill to present their position statements to lawmakers in the hope that lawmakers would intervene.

The incident, led by the Deputy Director for Operations of Police, Al Karley, left dozens of the residents brutalized and several others seriously wounded following the police raid on them in what is being referred to as the most recent police brutality.

Police in Monrovia justified the action on what it said was the residents’ refusal to secure a permit from the Ministry of Justice.

Several residents were arrested in the aftermath of Wednesday’s police clamp down which has subsequently led to them being sent to court Thursday.

The Liberian Government, for its part, had been informing occupants of the Rocky Hill Community surrounding the hotel to vacate the area that would pave the way for the renovation of the once beautiful continental hotel by the Libyan Holding Company.

Residents continue to defend the fact that they legally obtained the land decades ago and any removal or eviction should entail ‘handsome’ compensations that will enable them to begin life properly.

It remains unknown whether Thursday had been the ‘D-Day’ for the long awaited demolition. Critics find it suspicious that less than 24 hours after the protests the National House Authority’s demolition unit successfully demolished the community.

A conference room

By: Saki Golafele

A one day national stakeholders conference on lessons learned and best practices on REDD (Reduce Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) development in Liberia was recently held in Monrovia, Liberia on the 10^th of August, 2010. The conference, which was organized by the REDD technical working group in Liberia, supported by FFI (Fauna & Flora International) and funded by NORAD, brought together important stakeholders currently engaged in the REDD initiative at the international, national, county, and local community levels. The conference covered various thematic areas including forest management, community consultation and participation, policy development and resource management and planning as well as benefit sharing and governance. Besides REDD, REDD+ was also considered.

The conference was officially launched by Hon. Christopher Neyor, advisor to the President of Liberia on Energy, Environment and Climate Change. In his launching, he read a portion of a letter written by President Sirleaf to the President of Norway stating  Liberia’s position in the REDD process and Liberia’s readiness to present her R-PP (Readiness Preparedness Proposal) by October of this year. Hon. Neyor also presented a paper on the National Climate Change Management Arrangement which he outlined the entire structure of the REDD management team in Liberia.

Several other key individuals spoke at the conference including a Paramount Chief from the South Eastern region, Elizabeth Jellay who lamented that their children are not benefiting from the forest resources. She also said that Monrovia is not the only place for decision making and that indigenous people have the right to be part of the decision making process.

After listening to Paramount Chief Jellay, Hon. Christopher Neyor was moved and immediately listed Madam Jellay as one of Liberia’s representative to the forth coming climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, this year. Madam Jellay will represent the traditional council of Liberia at the conference. Several other key speakers spoke including Jessica Donovan-Allen, Technical Director of Conservation International, who presented papers on Policy Options: Economic Analysis for Low Carbon Economy and Dr. Nouhou Ndam, Chief Technical Advisor for REDD, FFI Liberia. Dr. Ndam spoke on risk analysis for REDD. Others who also presented papers were Urias S. Goll of FFI’s Conservation and Leadership Program, Kumeh S. Assaf of EPA and REDD Secretariat, Jane Dunlop of FFI-Indonesia and Yurfee Shaikalee of Action Against Climate Change. These three speakers presented papers on Consultation and Participation which highlighted issues such as consultation mechanism, capacity needs assessment and civil society engagement in REDD initiative. Mr. Shaikalee, on his part, recommended that civil society representation  be felt in the REDD process.

The conference also considered topics such as Economic Development and Resource Tenure Security, Benefit Sharing and Governance, and Monitoring, Reporting and Verication (MRV).

At the end of the conference, the facilitator, Pindarous Allison, led the participants to draft a resolution which will be presented to the Government of Liberia for onward presentation to her international partners.

REDD is a climate change mitigation program, which is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering credits for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in a low carbon economy to ensure sustainable development. Since 2005 at the Montreal conference, UNFCCC have had extensive discussions on the scope of REDD. Those discussions began with RED (i.e., limited to deforestation only) and expanded to REDD and REDD+ with consideration of forest degradation, and then broadened to further consider forest conservation, sustainable forest management, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that the forestry sector, mainly through deforestation, accounts for about 18% of global greenhouse emissions, making it the second largest source after the energy sector. In many developing countries, including Liberia, deforestation, forest degradation, forest fires and slash and burn practices make up the majority of carbon dioxide emissions. There are many causes of forest degradation and they vary from place to place. They include, among other things, poor forest management practices in production forests, forest fires, overgrazing, over harvesting of fuel wood and other non-wood forest products, illegal cutting of timber, forest pest outbreaks and forest disease.

Liberia is part of international agreements and the UNFCCC effort to combat climate change. As part of her effort, Liberia has been involved with approaches to adaptation to climate change using a multi-dimensional process, integrating components such as awareness raising, priority setting, sound planning, capacity building and research. Some which are still apart from the process and need to be included are technology development and transfer and resource mobilization. Before this conference, series of stakeholders’ engagements or consultations have occurred at the international, national, county and local levels. The Government of Liberia and her international and local partners and civil society organizations are heavily engaged in the REDD process to ensure Liberia’s readiness for REDD implementation.

By: Nathan Patio Charles

Email: lydnatlydnatlydnat@yahoo.com

Cell#: 231-6-929167

An independent investigation conducted by Ceasefire Liberia, in collaboration with Liberia’s Journalists for Human Rights and Good Governance four month justice reporting workshop for students from several universities in Liberia, has discovered that the  Monrovia Central Prison, popularly known as  South Beach in Monrovia,  is overcrowded.

The prison was built several years ago to host about  two hundred seventy five prisoners at its facilities, according to information gathered from relevant prison institutions and the Justice Ministry Bureau of Correctional and Rehabilitation Unit.

Crime continues to increase and the justice system in Liberia is notoriously slow, leaving the prison overcrowded with  pre-trial detainees. Pre-trial detainees are those accused of committing a crime, but  have not gone through court proceedings yet.

“Liberia’s justice system is in urgent need of support and reform as the result of these reforms, several courts responsible to speedily  investigate cases are not operating as expected of them thus allowing those accused to stay beyond the statutory court period, which is two court term,” asserted Prison Fellowship Liberia boss,  Moses Kollie. 

“This prison is hosting about eight hundred prisoners now as I am speaking, but it is possible that there can be an increase or decrease in this number,” asserted the First Shift supervisor, Wiah Jappoe who was in charge of the prison during the morning hours of July 20, 2010 when our reporter visited the prison facilities.

On the prison walls, where they keep vivid statistics of detainees at the Monrovia Central Prison, Mr. Jappoe narrated that out of the eight hundred detainees about eighty two have so far been sentenced with about seven hundred plus prisoners in pre trial detention.

“ Out of the eight hundred plus detainees six hundred ninety are males, seventy one  adult males and nine juvenile males,” he said.

Mr. Jappoe added that the female cell is hosting about fifteen women detainees, two of whom have been sentenced.

The correction officers also disclosed that rape, armed robbery, theft of property, and murder are amongst the top crimes.

During the tour at the prison a chart drawn on the prison wall showed that each cell block in the prison is accommodating between six to ten inmates.

There are no beds in most of the prison cells and some criminals had on dirty clothes, most of which are torn up. Inmates with mental illness, communicable diseases and other sicknesses were seen lying on old rice bags on the grounds in the prison, while some were roaming in the corridors of the overcrowded prison.

Our reporter also noticed that the bath and restrooms at the prison are not well taken care of and had a bad odor.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, Prison Fellowship Liberia, The Carter Center and other human rights organizations, have released several detainees through a special magisterial court seated at the Monrovia Central Prison.

These organizations, according to information gathered, are reviewing cases of those allegedly detained for minor offences but have been in detention over two terms of the court.

“These pre trail detainees have been in jail for several months and years and  not tried in two terms of court as require by the Liberian laws, we think it is a violation of human rights,” asserted tough talking Catholic Justice and Peace boss, Cllr. Augustine Toe.

Cllr. Toe said the JPC and other partners are not just releasing people allegedly accused of unlawful acts. They are helping those whose rights are being violated because they have stayed over the statutory period. Toe promises to continue championing the plight of detainees.

“The Ministry of Justice and partners are exerting efforts to improve conditions at the prison and to speedily try those allegedly accused but are in detention,” says an Official of the Ministry of Justice Bureau for Correction and Rehabilitation Unity, Fatu Mensah.

Madam Mensah said, the condition at the prison has over the past years improved, because prisoners have regular meals, and medical and skills training.

The Ministry of Justice is  now working on a societal  integration and loan program for inmates who served their prison term  to be reintegrated into society, she said.

The new hospital

By: Nat Bayjay, nbayjay2010@gmail.com

Liberia can now boast of a second referral hospital in rural Nimba County, which is bringing relief to the country’s thousands of rural dwellers’ medical problems.

The US$10 million modern hospital was dedicated over the weekend in Tappita, Lower Nimba County, to the cheers of thousands of Liberians including high ranking government officials led by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and her foreign diplomats and spearheaded by Chinese Ambassador Zhou Yuxiao.

The hospital is a good will gesture from the People’s Republic of China whose Ambassador described it as an Independence Day gift to Liberians.

Named after a late Liberian politician, it is called the Jackson Fiah Doe (JFD) Referral Hospital and its dedication is part of a slew of recent Chinese aid to the country. Earlier, two vital dedications from the Chinese were made to the Liberian Government in the last week heading toward the country’s 163^rd Independence Day.

First, it was the modern University of Liberia’s Fendell Campus in Careysburg outside Monrovia on Tuesday of last week, followed by another modern agricultural project in the Center for Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) on Thursday.

The newly dedicated hospital is expected to serve as a major relief, not only for the county, but also for the country’s entire southeastern region whose counties of Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Grand Kru, Maryland and Sinoe have no referral hospital.

The hospital consists of an outpatient department (OPD) building, an in-patient building that contains 100 sickbeds, an imaging and radiology building and an administrative building which are all linked together by corridors in addition to its auxiliary facilities that include six apartments for doctors, a 500KVA twin-generator house, a water pumping house, sewerage and waste treatment workshops, maintenance rooms, mortuary among others.

Equipped with 171 different kinds of modern medical equipments including the country’s first and only CT scanner and a color ultrasound system, an ambulance including others, the construction of the modern health facilities took only 16 months to be completed with construction work that began in March of last year.

Since the inception of the post-war government in 2006, China’s aid to the post-war country has been described by many observers as ‘incredibly amazing’, particularly as it overtook diplomatic ties from rival Taiwan.

TRC_LOGO

By: Nat Bayjay, nbayjay2010@gmail.com

On June 30, 2009, Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) submitted its findings and recommendations to the National Legislature; one year and one month on, the Commission finally closed its doors formally Thursday in Monrovia.

Jerome Verdier, whose chairmanship of the Commission was characterized by both internal wrangling and accusations of being biased, told a news conference that the TRC is officially closing down operations. According to Verdier, the TRC Coordinating Committee was established with two main objectives: ensuring the Government pays the Commission’s outstanding liabilities and providing supervision leading to the establishment of an archive center.

The former Chairman of the Commission insisted that the country’s stability is far from being realized if the country overlooks justice.

Former TRC Boss Verdier

Verdier said: “Reconciliation is a process, not a commodity that can be purchased in the absence without the building of a just and equitable society founded on the rule of law. There can be no peace without any justice”.

The composition of the ‘Coordinating Committee,’ which he chairs, includes former commissioners Massa Washington, John Stewart, and Reverend Gerald Coleman. Councilor Pearl Brown-Bull and Sheikh Kafumba Konneh, former commissioners who dissented on the Final Report, are not part of the new commission.

Thought the TRC’s findings and recommendations have so far seemed to cause more controversies than reconciliation, the purpose of the commission was to restore the war torn nation. The former TRC Boss said it is important for Liberia to take the TRC’s findings and recommendations as the way forward to seeing the country’s return to stability.

He added: “For generations to come, we will be haunted by the ghosts of the past.”

The TRC was chosen over a war crime tribunal as the means of dealing with the country’s ugly and unforgettable 14 years of civil war. But the Commission’s more than four years of operations, which were twice extended by the National Legislature, faced serious challenges including allegations of impartiality, non-payment of staffs and worst of all, dissenting opinions on the submitted Final Report from two of its commissioners.

A brainchild of the Accra Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) in 2003, the Commission was tasked to ensure the promotion of national peace, security, unity and reconciliation as its objectives and purpose by means of investigating gross human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law as well as abuses that occurred. These included the Commission’s investigation of massacres, sexual violations, murders, extra-judicial killings and economic crimes, such as the exploitation of natural or public resources to perpetuate armed conflicts, all which happened during the period January 1979 to October 14, 2003.

A disappointed Verdier spoke frustratingly about the failure of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, herself an indictee of the Report, who is being recommended for a three-decade ban from public life along with others, to meet her statutory mandate of reporting to the National Legislature.

 “To date, Her Excellency, the President, is lagging behind in her statutory commitment to report quarterly on the implementation of the TRC Recommendations,” Verider lamented, adding, “and not a voice including that of the National Legislature has been heard.”

Verdier bemoaned what he termed as the entire country’s mute posture on the President’s non-performance on a “major duty should have happened more than a month ago”.

Though she did make her first quarterly report four months ago, Verdier criticized the manner in which Sirleaf did so, adding: “While not much was recognized in the President’s first quarterly ‘report’ in March 2010, it was noteworthy for recognizing the good work of the Commission on the future of Liberia”.

The Liberian TRC joined over 30 other truth commissions established in 28 different countries of the world since the mid-1970s with eight African countries other than Liberia establishing truth commissions.

South Africa has had three truth commissions, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission established in 1995. Other African countries which have established such commissions are: Uganda (1974), Chad (1991), Nigeria (1999), Ghana (2002), Sierra Leone (2002), Democratic Republic of Congo (2003), and Morocco (2004) with negotiations are ongoing to establish one in Burundi.

While some of them, such as the South African TRC, have yielded positive results, the impacts of others were never felt. There is a fear that Liberia might be heading in similar directions.

Nathan Patio Charles
lydnatlydnatlydnat@yahoo.com
Cell #: 231-6-929167

Since the end of the civil crisis in Liberia and the subsequent election of Africa’s first female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian government has faced significant challenges rebuilding the damaged social, political, economic, and security sectors in Liberia .

During a visit of media practitioners sponsored by Journalists for Human Rights and Good Governance to Rivercess County, it was discovered that residents of the county do not have access to justice. They also lacks roads, health centers, security, and a basic education.

According to Rivercess County Attorney, D. Onesimus Banwon, there is a critical need for the government to improve the county’s justice system. The county lacks magisterial court,s which are responsible for investigating cases before transferring them to the Circuit Court. As a result of the lack of magisterial courts in the four districts, Banwon said most citizens are denied access to Justice.

“Residents of other districts walk several hours to Castor City to complain when someone offends them,” Banwon said. As a result of the long distances some citizens cases are compromised and there is a sense of impunity.

According to Banwon, crimes like aggravated assaults, rape, murder, and theft of property are occurring in these areas, which is a setback in the county’s justice system.

Attorney Banwon urged the government to employ legal practitioners at magisterial courts in the districts and build magisterial courts in the four political districts of Rivercess County, just as the capitol city of Monrovia has courts.

He said the Rivercess County also lacks prison facilities, which means those convicted in Rivercess are sent to Buchanan to serve their sentence. Banwon said that two criminals who were being detained at the prison in Cestor City escaped the prison recently.

Residents of Castor City told journalists that the number of police officers assigned in the county is not enough and that the prison facilities are deplorable. They also attributed the escape of the prisoners to the deplorable state of the prisons and called on relevant authorities to try and improve the situation.

Saki: Tell our readers about yourself.

Layli: I am an Associate Professor of Women’s Studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, who is working with the University of Liberia to develop its inaugural Gender Studies Program. In addition, I am the editor of an anthology, The Womanist Reader (Routledge, 2006), which documents the first 25 years of womanist thought, and author of a forthcoming book called The Womanist Idea (anticipated: 2011). I am married to the Liberian journalist, filmmaker, and businessman Seboe N. Maparyan. I first visited Liberia in 2009 for the International Women’s Colloquium, however, I had been working with Liberian women involved in literacy programs in Atlanta for about a year prior to that. In addition to Liberia, I have visited several African countries, including Uganda, South Africa, and Ghana.

Saki: As an educator, what attracts you to Liberia most?

Layli: I am thrilled by the opportunity to rebuild. I am thrilled by Liberians’ dedication to and enthusiasm about education. Liberian students strive and struggle for an education in ways that American students – including many African American students – have seemingly forgotten. Liberians don’t take education for granted. They recognize its importance and will make sacrifices to achieve it. This impresses me and cultivates my desire to contribute and collaborate. I am also excited about the prospect of using education as a platform for rehabilitating the historical relationship between Liberians and African Americans as well as refiguring often overly romanticized US notions of what it means to be “Afrocentric.” Liberia often refers to itself as “America’s stepchild,” but I think it’s time for the US-Liberia relationship to step out of the shadows and fulfill its potential as a vital, vibrant, egalitarian and affectionate relationship. Perhaps with President Barack Obama in office, we have hope of realizing such aspirations. Last but not least, I am attracted to the possibility of advancing gender issues – including gender development, gender equity, gender justice, and gender balance — through education in Liberia.

Saki: You’ve made several visits to Liberia since the International Women’s Colloquium. What have you seen or experienced in Liberia that makes you feel optimistic about Liberia’s post-conflict recovery? Do you think Liberians are ready for nation building?

Layli: Liberians are not only ready for nation building, they ARE nation-building. The spirit of the people is the number one thing that makes me feel optimistic. When I came to Liberia for the very first time, I expected to encounter a nation of traumatized, demoralized people and to feel the energy of violence and conflict “in the air.” To my surprise, I felt the energy of peace the moment my foot touched the ground on the tarmac of Roberts International Airport. As I met more and more individual Liberians, I felt peace coming from the hearts and spirits of the people. People seemed tired (as one might expect after 14 years of civil war), but at the same time open, optimistic, and friendly. I was immediately won over, and I began to ask myself, “Am I Liberian??” Perhaps I will test my ancestry and find out!!!

Saki: What are your impressions about Liberians?

Layli: As I mentioned above, my impressions of Liberians are very positive and upbeat. More than anything, Liberians desire peace. Liberians are a giving people. But years of deprivation and gross economic disparity have caused most people to have to scramble for whatever they can get to survive. This takes up a lot of energy – for any human being, not just a Liberian human being. Liberians are in a delicate period – a period during which people must adjust to a different vision of themselves and their nation. This vision must be one of peace, prosperity, patience, power, and potential. Liberians have something very important to give to the world: an example of how to go from the worst of circumstances to the best of circumstances, from the worst devastation to the greatest recovery. Liberia right now is poised to lead the world in this way, and I hope everyone recognizes their unique, individual role in meeting this challenge and making this possibility a reality. Rise, Liberians!!!

Saki: What is your present mission in Liberia and what have you achieved thus far?

Layli: My present mission is to help the University of Liberia to build its first-ever Gender Studies Program. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected, she made gender issues – including gender development and gender mainstreaming – a very high priority. This gave international visibility to Liberia as a global laboratory of gender development and gender justice. The world is watching! I said to myself, the University of Liberia has a very important role in all of this, so I volunteered to be of assistance, given that my own scholarly expertise is in the area of women’s and gender studies. It is fortunate that the University of Liberia, currently headed by Dr. Emmet Dennis as president of the institution, welcomed my involvement and saw a vision of Gender Studies at UL. So far, we have produced a Gender Studies Program concept paper which has been reviewed by relevant faculty members and administrators, and we are working on various aspects of implementation and resource mobilization. I have visited Liberia several times to conduct ongoing needs assessments as well as to build stakeholder relationships. In fact, I just hosted a group of study abroad students from the US, and I am about to return on a Fulbright. We have an opportunity here to create a gender studies program like one that has never been created anywhere around the world before – and that is, one that is African (Liberian) centered, womanist (meaning humanity-focused, but with special perspectives from women) in orientation, and committed to peace, especially in terms of understanding the role of gender issues in peace-building. This program will also be very practical, designed to create solutions and solve social, technological, and ecological problems faced by Liberia during its recovery and rebuilding phases. For example, gender studies as envisioned will link fields as diverse as business, law, science and engineering, social work, agriculture, conflict transformation studies, and so on, in addition to the more traditional social science and humanities fields. What good is a discipline if it doesn’t solve problems that real people face? Gender Studies at the University of Liberia will be a staging ground for solving social, technological, and ecological problems so that Liberians can enjoy wellness, peace, and prosperity.

Saki: As a GSU professor, you’ve been involved with gender and women issues and would love to have a gender studies program at the University of Liberia. What are the mutual benefits for both GSU and UL?

Layli: Georgia State University prides itself on its internationalism and, in particular, its leadership in assisting developing nations. The collaboration between GSU and UL is an opportunity to do more of what we already do best – build global society and establish international partnerships. GSU is an incredibly diverse institution – we have students, faculty, and administrators from all over the world and we are nationally ranked for our multicultural demographic. In fact, GSU already has a Liberian student association! In the future, it is my hope to establish exchanges between Liberian students, faculty, and administrators and GSU, and US students, faculty, and administrators and UL. The exchange must go both ways. We will begin with our own Women’s Studies Program, but already other departments are lining up to participate in these potential collaborations and exchanges. This is a long-term relationship with room to grow!

Saki: Do you think this program will help address some of the burning gender
issues in Liberia?

Layli: In any society, higher education plays an important role in facilitating national dialogue around important issues, including those which might be controversial or involve social change. Gender issues in Liberia are complex, and people have many different perspectives – cultural, religious, historical, personal. Having a Gender Studies Program at the nation’s flagship public university will go a long way in making sure that national dialogues – from the halls of government to the palava huts of the villages in the counties – are productive, peaceful, and progressive. It is important that everyone’s voice has a place at the table, and a Gender Studies Program at the leading university can help arbiter the process of inclusion. Liberia will fly when both wings of the bird – male and female – are strong and equal.

Saki: What is your view about women’s role in Liberia’s recovery process? Do you think they are making impact?

Layli: The world knows that women in Liberia have had an important role in delivering the nation from war to relative peace and stability. Liberians themselves know that women often hold families and communities together with their strength and hard work. What is important is the further inclusion of women in society’s formal roles – in the economy, in government, in the leadership of civil society organizations, in religious institutions and places of worship, in education, and so on. Liberia is world famous for having a woman at the top – an incredible achievement, to be commended. Having a woman at the top opens up the dialogue for having women everywhere, until parity (50% participation in all sectors) is achieved. Why not? It should be so! Men may say, “What about me?” – but, trust me, nowhere in the world are men forgotten when women are in charge, even if the opposite isn’t always true. Women’s equality and empowerment is now a vigorous global trend that will not be forestalled anywhere. However, Liberia again has a unique role to contribute to the world conversation about gender by showcasing some of the unique ways in which women have historically been empowered in Liberian society, as well as by sharing some of the unique methods women have come up with for fostering peace. Already UN policies and procedures have been influenced by Liberian women’s roles in the peace process, contributing a gift to all the other nations of the world. Liberia has a lot to be proud of in this regard, and let’s hope that both genders are celebrating. At the same time, we cannot forget that there are some grave problems yet to be solved, such as high rates of sexual violation against children. Gender Studies will help with this as just one part of the puzzle, but it will take the resolve of the whole nation to truly become leaders in all things gender related. I’m calling the nation to the task!

Saki: Any final remarks?

Layli: I would like to thank the people who first made it possible for me to become involved in this work in Liberia, namely, Deborah Richardson of the Women’s Funding Network, who first brought me to the table, and Cynthia Blandford Nash, Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Liberia, State of Georgia, who led my first trip to Liberia and subsequently established the University Consortium for Liberia, which I now chair. I would also like to thank my husband, Seboe Maparyan, for being my spiritual collaborator and soul mate in all things. I would like to extend gratitude to all my relatives in Bong County as well as Monrovia, and the many Liberian friends I have met over the last two years – in the US as well as Liberia – who have welcomed me as a sister and daughter of Liberia. In particular, I would like to thank Melinda Joss, founder of WOCDAL, and Mama Tormah, paramount leader of Liberia’s traditional women, for welcoming me and giving me a Liberian name, which bestowed Liberian womanhood upon me. I would like to thank Rev. William B.G.K. Harris and his wife Sis. Queeta for the same. To be frank, there are too many people to name to whom I owe deep thanks. Top honors go to God, the Creator, who has blessed and graced me with these many opportunities to live, love, and serve.

By: Ruthie Ackerman

A long time has passed since my last update and so many amazing things have happened for Ceasefire Liberia.

First off, Ceasefire Liberia celebrated its one year anniversary last month! It’s been an amazing year: We have formed partnerships with other fantastic organizations, we’ve been profiled a number of times in the media, we have raised friends, recruited bloggers and even were in Santiago, Chile earlier this month for the Global Voices Citizen Media summit. One of the most exciting moments was when I met Nat Nyuan-Bayjay, Ceasefire Liberia’s blog manager, for the first time in the year we have been working together online. Isn’t it amazing when online and offline worlds converge? I met so many online friends in Chile, many whom I only knew from the Twitter handles. Another bonus from the trip: Global Voices donated a video camera to the Ceasefire project so our bloggers can start to work on video. So look for those soon!

Last month, a group of students from the Graduate Program in International Affairs at New School University undertook the preliminary planning and scoping for a multi-university support project targeted toward the Liberian independent media. The team’s Practicum assignment was to develop an initial look at what a web portal might look like that would support the project. The team also developed a survey to address specific questions regarding the needs of the independent media in the run-up to the 2011 election. These students came out to Staten Island to see the Ceasefire Liberia, meet some of our bloggers, and get some first-hand feedback from the Liberian community to understand the media environment both during the war years and after.

Also in April, Ceasefire Liberia was at Africa Gathering in Washington DC, where I learned about other great work being done on the African continent and met many of my heroes from the web. I was extremely excited to speak to Bill Zimmerman of Limbe Labs, who was kind enough to let me pick his brain about the role technology is playing in changing young people’s lives in Cameroon.

And now for the drumroll please- Ceasefire Liberia in the news. Here is a list of all our media mentions since my last check in six months ago:

The Paley Media Center profiled Ceasefire Liberia on its blog Think Social

Michelle Garcia of CUNY TV profiled Ceasefire Liberia’s Staten Island project

Tevah Platt of the Staten Island Advance profiled Ceasefire Liberia’s newest project, Ceasefire, which will launch this summer

Kevin Rennie captured on video Nat’s presentation about Ceasefire Liberia in Santiago (It was amazing and now you can see it for yourself!)

Nat interviewed for Future Challenges

Interview with Saki G. for Pocket Cultures

Interview with Boimah JV Boimah for Pocket Cultures

Lonely Planet featured Ceasefire Liberia in their “Blogs We Like” section

Here is a piece in German (!) but don’t worry if you don’t know German because there is a cute photo of Nat and I to look at.

And last but not least, the Kellogg Foundation gave us a grant to start a new arm of Ceasefire Liberia called Ceasefire, which will focus on creating a citizen media project for African immigrant and African-American youth in Staten Island based on the Ceasefire Liberia model. Look for that project to launch this summer!

Thanks for reading and supporting us!

By: Nat Bayjay

-Santiago, Chile

The most exciting moment in the history of Ceasefire Liberia took place as the founder of the Project, Ruthie Ackerman, and the Liberian blog manager, Nat Bayjay met for the first time ever at the Global Voices Summit in the Chilean capital of Santiago May 6, 2010.

Despite working together for a little over one year now, all contacts between the both had been electronically.

“I just saw him from across the room as we were getting coffee and I was like ‘Nat!!!’,” Ackerman explained.

As for his part, Bayjay narrated: “I was already beginning to get frustrated about not seeing Ruthie up to the time the Summit was about to begin. Then all of a sudden, I heard this voice screaming my name. We were so excited that we hugged over three times in succession while others at the library were just staring at our most excited moment”.

Bayjay and Ackerman began working together after Ackerman received a grant from Rising Voices, a component-project of Global Voices, to establish Ceasefire Liberia, which is a multimedia project that aims to connect Liberians around the world.

Since then Ackerman and Bayjay have been collaborating.

Nat & Ruthie during Summit break

Following their Santiago meeting, they discussed how to move Ceasefire Liberia forward, including how to secure grants to fully equip our bloggers with digital cameras and laptops to effectively carryout their duties, as well as how to recruit female bloggers whose contributions will prove very vital to the mission and goal of the project.

By: Nat Bayjay

“What a splendid presentation that was!!”

“That was really amazing!!”

“That was the most wonderful presentation I’ve ever seen!!”

“Congrats for such a wonderful presentation of your project!!”

These were few of the many expressions and excited comments that came from dozens of people attending the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit as they gave a standing ovation to the Project Manager of Ceasefire Liberia following his eight-minute presentation in the Chilean capital of Santiago at the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit. During the presentation Bayjay talked about the Ceasefire Liberia project, what it has achieved and where it intends to go.

Global Voices (GV) is an international community of global bloggers and Ceasefire Liberia is a grantee of one of its projects, Rising Voices. GV ended its biennial international summit in the Latin American nation of Chile with a theme that highlights citizen media and its impact in various countries.

During his presentation, Bayjay told an audience of about 300 how Ceasefire Liberia was established, its successes as well as its challenges.

Nat & Ruthie At GV-2010 Summit in Chile

He explained that the project was established by the American journalist named Ruthie Ackerman, who he had never met until about three hours before his presentation.

Outlining some of the achievements, Bayjay, through a PowerPoint presentation, told the audience how Ceasefire Liberia’s reporting has helped to not only attract international attention, but also led to aid coming from its Diaspora readership. He cited the cases of acid victim Sackie Nyanquoi and bullet victims Joseph Morlu and Papa Kamara.

Amidst applause Bayjay continued by narrating how bloggers from Liberia and the United States have posted stories on topics ranging from politics to violence to Liberian society.

Nat makes a point during the presentation

He concluded by adding, “Well, in as much as we have scored these successes in such a relative short period of time, we are also plagued with challenges which must be addressed in order to see us do more”.

The need to equip bloggers of the project with needed gadgets such as digital cameras and recorders, as well as compensation to cover the costs of reporting, are just some of the challenges the project faces. Ceasefire Liberia also needs to focus more time and energy on the recruitment of female bloggers.

The other four Rising Voices projects, which made presentations in Chile included: Otgoo’s ‘Nomad Green Mongolia’ of Mongolia, Yessenia’s ‘Hiperbarrio’ of Colombia and Pablo’s ‘Blogging Since Infancy’ of Uruguay.

Following his presentation, several international media outlets sought and conducted interviews with Bayjay (including this one on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIJmGVHwgD0).